Heretofore, it has been well known to bond ceramic orthodontic brackets to teeth by use of a chemical bonding material which causes a chemical bonding between the bracket base and the tooth that results in a substantially higher bond strength than that obtained by mechanical retention in the bonding of a metal bracket to a tooth surface. Because of the higher bonding strength obtained with a chemical bond, a much higher shear force is necessary in order to debond the bracket from a tooth which has led to a number of problems during debonding. For example, the ceramic bracket being very brittle can fracture, allowing particles to be ingested by the patient. Because the bonding strength is so high, it sometimes results in causing fracture of the tooth or the removal of enamel from the tooth surface which damages the tooth.
In order to overcome the problems of bracket piece ingestion or damaging the teeth during debonding of ceramic brackets that are chemically bonded to teeth, it is known to apply a surface to the tooth-attaching side of a ceramic bracket that will provide a mechanical interlock between the bracket and the tooth as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,786 by applying an alumina particle texturing through a combined brazing/sintering operation.
It has also been known to provide a ceramic bracket base with a microcrystalline bonding surface for obtaining a bracket that may be mechanically bonded to a tooth.